It\u2019s getting harder to be a protester in Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s New York.<\/p>\n
The Democratic governor recently signed a new law creating buffer zones that restricts demonstrations around houses of worship. Last year, she created a new criminal charge aimed at protesters who wear masks.<\/p>\n
And now, longtime activists who recently staged sit-ins at the state Capitol say they were hit with misdemeanor charges \u2014 higher than the traditional disorderly conduct violations that the State Police dispense to Capitol demonstrators.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re trying to criminalize protest in a lot of different ways,\u201d said Jonathan Westin, director of the Climate Organizing Hub, an advocacy organization.<\/p>\n
Hochul said she had nothing to do with the higher charges against protesters. But she defended her push for the masking and buffer zone restrictions, saying she prioritizes public safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy responsibility as governor is to keep people safe,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are people who want to be arrested because they want to be arrested. This is what performance protest is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Westin was present this year for three demonstrations at the Capitol on March 25, April 21 and May 5. People from various groups protested Hochul\u2019s proposal to roll back New York\u2019s 2019 climate law<\/a>.<\/p>\n She argued that meeting the state\u2019s emissions-cutting mandates would increase costs for residents. Demonstrators said urgent action is needed to prevent climate change, and that the law should be implemented to reduce costs in the long term.<\/p>\n In March, protesters sat outside Hochul\u2019s Capitol office but weren\u2019t disturbed. They eventually moved to the other side of the building near the exit that top officials like Hochul use to reach their cars. State Troopers arrested and charged people \u2013 including Raj Goyle, a candidate for state comptroller \u2013 with trespass violations, according to court records.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was a very important signal to send,\u201d Goyle said. He said he was processed in a conference room<\/a> and released with a ticket.<\/p>\n Things changed in the latter demonstrations. Protesters again sat outside the main entrance to Hochul\u2019s Capitol office, but were arrested by the State Police and charged with obstructing governmental administration \u2013 a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n Pete Sikora, a senior adviser to the advocacy group New York Communities for Change, was arrested on April 21 with Westin and 16 other people. Westin and another 15 people were arrested and charged with the same misdemeanor on May 5.<\/p>\n Mark Mishler, a longtime civil rights lawyer who represented the protesters, said they were held longer by police, who took fingerprints and mugshots at a substation outside the Capitol.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a deviation from this long-standing practice to start charging people with criminal offenses,\u201d Mishler said.<\/p>\n State Police spokesperson Beau Duffy said the charges were \u201cbased on the conduct observed and its impact on governmental operations. New York State Police have utilized this charge previously in connection with Capitol protests when circumstances supported it.\u201d<\/p>\n Prosecutors downgraded the charges and then moved to dismiss them provided the accused demonstrators stayed out of trouble, according to Mishler.<\/p>\n Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon said his office never declines to prosecute protesters but doesn\u2019t have a set policy on how to handle arrests at the Capitol. The Democratic DA added that there are \u201ccompeting interests\u201d at play at the Capitol, which he called a \u201cunique place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn the one hand, you’ve got the safety and the security of the elected officials \u2026 you’ve got the safety and security of the State Police,\u201d he said. \u201cYou also have this idea that I don’t want to discourage protest. I don’t want to discourage citizens from having their voices heard by elected officials.\u201d<\/p>\n When protesters do get within shouting distance of the governor, she\u2019s had mixed reactions. Speaking at a political conference in San Juan last November, Hochul told people shouting \u201ctax the rich\u201d that, \u201cI\u2019m the type of person \u2014 the more you push me, the more I\u2019m not going to do what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n During a rally in Manhattan in April, when people shouted during a colloquy with the press, the governor waved to them.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody has a right to protest. I have been in my fair share of protests,\u201d she said. \u201cThey have a right to do what they\u2019re doing here today \u2013 that\u2019s totally fine with me.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor has twice advanced new restrictions on protests in response to antisemitic outbursts in New York City.<\/a> In 2025, she attempted to restrict people from covering their faces in public with intent to harass others. Lawmakers objected to the bill\u2019s language<\/a> and the governor settled for creating a harsher penalty for people who wear masks while committing other crimes.<\/p>\n